I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year! I will be spending the week with Alice’s loving family in a small town in Vermont. I have been so lucky to get to know her family over the past two years and they have taken me in as one of their own. When I moved to Boston ~2.5 years ago I was terribly homesick. Flash back to my anatomy class– my first graduate school class. It was extremely hard and time intensive on top of the fact that I was pretty darn sad. I may have been tearing up little, standing near the lockers when a blonde girl walks up (who I did not know) and just gives me a hug. Meet Alice, my best east coast friend! The hugs and love didn’t stop there- her entire family welcomes me with open arms and they make me feel like I am apart of their family. I am so glad to be sharing this holiday with them before I move back to Portland, Oregon next month. But don’t worry- I plan to visit the Chandler family in Vermont often throughout my life. 🙂

These delicious and fall inspired cupcakes will be sure to please your family at Thanksgiving this year; the brown sugar, spice and caramel all compliment each other beautifully. The cake has a very delicate crumb like texture, which is paired with a creamy and smooth caramel frosting. If you are making this cake, it’s important to plan a little extra time for the caramel to sit after cooking but the frosting is so delicious it was so worth it. My roommate commented that it tasted like caramel fudge! Enjoy and let us know what you think!

Be sure to check out the adorable Thanksgiving Printables from EnchantingDetails.com at this link. They are so easy to use and they help spice up your Thanksgiving celebration.

6. Add the flour mixture on low speed alternating with buttermilk in three parts. Beat until smooth and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.

7. In a clean bowl: beat 3 egg whites and cream of tarter on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Beat until peaks are stiff but not dry. Using a spatula, slowly add 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the batter and fold in gently. Add the rest of the egg whites and fold gently until combined.

8. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full with batter and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

9. Remove from oven and place cupcakes on cooling rack.

10. Once cupcakes are completely cool, frost with Caramel frosting.

Frosting Directions

Hint: Make the frosting while the cake is baking and cooling.

1. In a medium sized heavy saucepan combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter and milk and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cook for ~3 minutes and wash down any sugar crystals with a wet pastry brush. Cook without stirring until 238° to 240°F is reached and remove from heat.

2. Float 3 tablespoons butter on top and then cool for 1-2 hours without stirring.

3. Add vanilla extract and beat the frosting until smooth, thick, and creamy. If it is too thick add a little milk to spreading consistency.